Do You Prefer 1pg/1day or Batch Style?

[EverydayWonderlander]

Hello ! I've been wondering, is it easier for the artists here to complete a page a day or to complete pages in a batch (say, 10 pages) ?

For me, I've been doing batches since around 2019, and it's much easier than doing a page a day with regards to my wrist health. However, I'm starting to wonder if it would be better speed-wise to do a page a day. I don't make scrolling format comics, and I think that probably has to do with it.

EDITED TO ADD: I also find that by the end my scheduled post buffer runs out, usually about a month, I'm a bit brain-dead and tired of working. I know that it's impossible to be pleased *all the time* while making a comic, but I'd rather not be a puddle by the time I finish a batch.

I recently ordered a book called Draw Stronger since I'm trying to be kinder to my body while drawing, and also keep in mind that I would like to keep drawing until the bitter end (lol). I worry that pushing myself to complete a page a day may worsen my pre-existing repetitive stress injuries.

Any thoughts/experiences on this topic are good and useful ones ! I appreciate anyone who takes their time to read and share.

[BLTX]

I upload all my episodes in a single batch, with every single page included.

For me, the biggest advantage is being able to fix any problems pre-release. I like to complete all my pages and then schedule the episode at least 20 days into the future. The time restriction, though not too strict, gives me time to look through the thing and see if there are any major fixes I need to make before release. Plus, the restriction sorta puts my brain into "super mode" and allows me to find issues quicker.

While it does mean new episodes come out pretty rarely, I think it's a really good way of doing things overall, and thus far I haven't experienced any major flaws with it.

[IndigoShirtProd]

Batches.

[Moesakuara]

First off, cute icon. Secondly, for me I draw color and letter in batches of three to six pages to kind of keep myself on my toes while having some buffer, then release one episode bi weekly. Something like this could be a nice middle ground for you, maybe smaller uploads with a queue left, or a single page with more queued up. As long as you are consistent the amount of pages or when you upload/how often doesn't always seem to matter. I've seen comics that go once a month with a single (really good) page or huge page drops regularly. It seems like having something and somewhat sticking to it is key.

As for your wrist health. I am a detail driven/maximalist type, which you can probably tell if you ever see my comic and or art. But so was the late great Neil Adams, whose video down here about how to hold a pen realllyyyy helped me. I'd heard the advice a lot before in school, basically, "draw with your arm, not your wrist" but combined with the actual way he says to hold a pen/pencil it really does reduce strain. I have found myself with far less if not any pain and am drawing much more now then I have before. Along with stretches and breaks I cannot recommend his advice enough, even if it takes some getting used to: The proof is in the pudding, dude was working his whole life up until his passing and seemed to have little issue inking these incredible and super details pages:

[Lunar-Turtle]

I upload two pages a week, seperately and on different days. It is better in terms of stats, but also because people have more time to absorb each page much more than in batches. It just gives each page more attention.

I have a fully colored and shaded comic, so it's easier to keep up with the pace, if I upload fewer pages per week.

[xstarx07]

I also upload in batches, due to the fact that I want to compress as much content of a chapter - or at least a part of a chapter - into 1-4 episodes, (as of now, because they might get longer depending on me wanting to have certain character interactions,) because I try to make my chapters as long as a TV-series episode might be and I'm more comfortable with that - even when I'm the one reading someone else's comic. So, I'm a little biased towards longer episodes. ^^"

However, I've been thinking about going on a half-a-year hiatus to get as much as I can get done & then schedule the results weekly. I'm still a little conflicted on that, since like I said, I prefer doing longer episodes, and I like my current workflow with promoting, working on the comic & having enough time to read other people's projects, but I believe that it's in a realm of possibility for the future.

[EverydayWonderlander]

Oh wow, that's awesome ! I've got a bad habit of holding my pen the "American" way when drawing digitally - I'm definitely going to try and change that.
I switched to drawing with my whole arm a few years ago after getting my RSI so I think this will really help !

Thank you so much for sharing the video too, so that other people can see it : D

[NickRowler]

OK, I started watching this video and had to stop due to him using words like "right" and "wrong" when talking about gripping pencils.

I hold my pen similar to #12 in this picture and it has to do with the bone on the tip of my thumb is shorter than the average person. Anyone is says this is wrong, well sorry that I have deformed hands.

[igneriss]

I try to draw one page a day, but upload in batches of 3-5 pages a week. This way I can slowly work on the buffer as well.

[Moesakuara]

No problem, it's advice all of us should know! And ditto with a tablet, I sometimes forget and use my wrist more then I should, though I mitigate this a bit because I don't ink my pages digitally, I draw them and color them that way but print them out and re scan them to ink. Does your tablet have a screen protector on it? Apparently that helps since your arm won't be sliding around as much if it is a matte surface like paper.

[Moesakuara]

Yes, though I'd argue this chart is basically saying "right and wrong" in more words. But, it's fair to feel it's too general to just say right or wrong. I have really long thumbs and have a habit of holding my pencil tight and pressing hard. That isn't wrong per say, but it caused me a lot of trouble. His advice more or less boils down to this exact chart. Just another way, and maybe more in depth way, to explain the same concept.

[EverydayWonderlander]

Oh, it's not a screen tablet - it's a pen/touch one by Huion. I don't like screen tablets very much right now, though I'll probably switch to one later on if I can justify buying it.

I'm now wondering if there's a similar "protector" sheet for touch tablets. If so, I might try one out !

[Moesakuara]

I liked the screen tablet wacom better then the bamboo and was lucky to be able to use both. Now with older ipads getting less expensive I was able to get one last christmas to replace my computer. It's a trade off because there are certain things you cannot do from the ipad that you can only do on a desktop computer. The pro though is that for drawing it is very, very good. Far better then the plug in wacom with and without a screen, but it is also much more expensive then the bambo. But yeah in terms of using a tablet, I guess I mean because the surface area is smaller then a piece of paper (usually) that is where at least I personally have to remember to use my arm more and not my wrist, because there is less space and it's a bit slippery.

[MeltingCORE]

I personally do batches and then upload for a few weeks at a time. I'm doing a full color, painterly type of comic so... yeah. It's over-the-top but it's what I want and I want to have fun. (Mine is a companion piece to my novel series "Red Shift".)

[AlexanderWythe]

Bit of a long answer but here we go...

Batch production generally gives you more time to do a set number of pages. The approach I use to draw five pages over five days (I use monochrome and monochrome tones) usually involves me approaching all five pages at once. So I would draw all the first draft on the first day, all the final draft on the second day, draw my ink outlines on the third day and then for the last two days I would fill in all the tones, effects and speech to give me five finished pages.

I used to work in a factory so I applied a production line method for my webcomic. I found this to be more efficient as described in the process above and it helps to lessen the workload, particularly when you get one of those time consuming pages..

You should try and find what process fits you best and you can do this by knowing how long it takes to produce one page. Also, to save some time, avoid being too detailed on first drafts and go easy on your final drafts as only you will see and use them.

[system]

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